The Other Economic Summit

The Other Economic Summit (TOES) "was founded by TOES/UK, now the New Economics Foundation. The first TOES conference was held in England in 1984 when a variety of individuals and groups concerned with social justice and the environment decided there should be a peoples' response to the G7 (now G8) summit held in London that year. ...

"In 1991, the TOES conference returned to London and was organized by the New Economics Foundation, with participation by TOES-USA...

"In 1998, TOES returned to England for a third time, and again the New Economics Foundation sponsored a "Peoples' Summit", this time in Birmingham, England. In 1999, a consortium of German groups sponsored "Alliance Cologne 99/Bündnis Köln 99" in Cologne, Germany. "Summit 2000," in Okinawa, Japan, was organized by Japanese groups. The 2001 G8 Summit Genoa, Italy, turned deadly when police harassed legitimate popular responses to G8 policies and one protester was killed. After 9/11/2001, the G8 adopted a fortress mentality as sites for the G8 summits in Kananaskis, Canada, in 2002 and Evian, France, in 2003, were chosen to be as inaccessible as possible. This year's site at isolated Sea Island, Georgia, continues this trend. Happily, as the G8 leaders became ever more isolated behind ever bigger barricades, press coverage of the various popular responses to the G8 Summits got better and better. We hope to be able to show them the many ways - from economic analyses to economic strategies -- by which people everywhere are taking control of their own economic destinies."